Bad situations are no laughing matter . . . or are they? Laughter can be used to relax people, diffuse explosive situations, and put people in a receptive mood. In the HBO television series Band of Brothers, Easy Company is constantly training. A private asks for permission to speak. Lieutenant Dick Winters grants him permission. […]
To Ponder
Westside Story – Caring For Kids
Most of my life I arranged it so I had a walk-a-round job; you know, wandering around with a clipboard, looking official, and gawking at stuff while saying things like, “uh huh” and “oh-oh.” Some pointing is needed to make it look official. No one ever knew who I was or what I was doing. […]
Sweet, Succulent, and Healthful in Nine Ways
Have you ever eaten a dried date? My earliest memory of eating a date was in the fifth grade at Park Lodge Elementary in Lakewood. I opened up my lunch pail, packed by my mom, and there were several dates. Each one contained vanilla icing and a walnut half. I loved them. This would have […]
Foldscopes Redux – Beginning Microbiology at Age 65
This is the fourth and final article featuring Richard Dorsett’s trip to Asia to distribute Foldscopes, the fully functional microscope, which users construct by origami principles. The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8 funded the Foldscopes for adventurer and hiking and biking enthusiast Richard Dorsett: Some years ago, I bought two microscopes from the Washington surplus […]
Home from Home: Dancing Days
Dancing is big in Europe, and ball room dancing is something every kid attending a German grammar school usually learns at age 14 or 15 by attending a local dance school. I did, too, and enjoyed it that hugely that I taught my younger brother how to waltz, do the foxtrot, the blues, the cha-cha, […]
Letter: Welcome to Lakewood, your source for gambling and marijuana
Rep. Sawyer, Rep. Condotta, and friends, are back with a new bill in the current legislative session that would erect signs for problem and pathological gamblers providing a toll-free hotline number to get help.
Over-Baked Potatoes – Always Ready
I love baked potatoes with butter, Parmesan cheese, chives, and sour cream. Unfortunately, if you start with a potato the size of high school boy’s basketball shoe, the calories could pile on the weight instead of the enjoyment. I like to use a combination of small reds and Yukon Golds. I throw six to eight […]
Westside Story – WiFi
Have you ever been wandering around your house and you suffer an ordeal that was never a problem back in the 1950s, but it frustrates you now in the 2000s? You lose your wifi signal. Hey, I step onto my patio with the intention of writing a New York Best Seller and boom, I am […]
Waffle Stop – Restaurant Review
My friend Jim picked me up for lunch at 11:30 am. We drove to the North Proctor area in Tacoma. We parked directly across the street in what appeared to be the only available parking spot. This was well before noon on a Friday morning in January. We walked across the street and entered the […]